Transcript:

The response to my umbrella-customer service video was tremendous. So here’s another thought about handling that customer service challenge. Never open up by first offering compensation. This is a classic mistake large organizations make. They run you through a script, offer you something to shut up and go away and close out the file. So what’s wrong with that? They never resolve problems. They just pay you to stop complaining about them. Worse, they don’t actually listen to how this problem has impacted you and tell you what they’re going to do to prevent this in the future.

Restaurants are notorious for this. Here’s a dessert. Shut up. But how are they going to prevent this from happening to other customers again and again? I don’t know. Change is hard and cake is cheap.

I know this. Feedback is a gift. If a customer is complaining, they’re saying “I want to love your business. Just fix this.” Sometimes, the customer with the biggest service challenge is the one who will give you the most glowing review and referrals if you just listen and treat them right.